Clive Palmer’s massive mine twice size of Adani

MILLIONAIRE Clive Palmer will soon learn the fate of his proposed coal mine in Queensland which could be twice the size of the Adani project.

The Department of the Environment and Energy told the Sydney Morning Herald it would decide by Monday whether the Alpha North Coal Mine Project mine proposed by Mr Palmer's Waratah Coal company will need a "detailed assessment under national environmental law".

The massive mine will be located in the Galilee Basin region within Barcaldine, Charters Towers and the Isaac local government areas, which have historically been used for primary production.

The mammoth mining area stretches over 144,000 ha.

Construction is planned to start in 2027, with mining operations to start in 2030, a proposal lodged with the Federal Government reads.

The mine life is 30 years and it will integrate into the northern Galilee Basin State Development Area and the Northern Galilee Basin rail system which Adani wants to develop.

The Alpha North Coal Mine Project. Contributed

Two sections of the mine, north and south, will be managed by a single operating company and will produce 56 million tonnes of coal each year.

Both open cut and underground methods will be used.

Coal will be processed and then transported to the Port of Abbot Point for transport.

As part of the project, a 2000 person accommodation village will be constructed.

The Waratah submission lists a number of migratory species that could be impacted by the proposed mine including the Fork-tailed Swift.

Comment has been sought from the Department of the Environment and Energy.

Greenpeace Australia has lodged a submission against the proposal saying the mine is likely to have a significant and unacceptable impact on a number of matters of national environmental significance, including listed threatened species and ecological communities.

Jonathan Moylan, a campaigner from Greenpeace also expressed concerns about water resources, the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area, and migratory birds.

Mr Moylan said the proponent had drawn heavily on the environmental impact assessment for the Carmichael Coal and Rail Project from 2010, which he says suggests that a thorough and up to date assessment has not been undertaken.

He said Mr Palmer's proposed coal mine would be among the biggest in the world; three times the size of Adani's proposed Carmichael mine and more than 27 times the size of Sydney Harbour.

"It would also be one of the world's largest in terms of its emissions; if approved, Alpha North would account for 31 per cent of Australia's domestic greenhouse gas emissions at a time when a coal phase-out is desperately needed."

The proponent

The Project will be developed and operated by Waratah Coal, a subsidiary of the Clive Palmer owned Mineralogy Pty Ltd (Mineralogy).

Waratah Coal is a privately owned Australian coal exploration and coal development company that holds extensive mining concessions within the Galilee Basin, including the approved China First Project which includes the rail system Mining Area South will connect to.

Waratah Coal has applied for a ML and an Environmental Authority (EA) to enable the development of the Project.

Waratah Coal is seeking to have the project assessed via an Environmental Impact